Inkstand.



U rrnn AES FRANK A. WEEKS, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

INKSTAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Application filed December 24, 1917. Serial No. 208,673.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. WEEKS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l'nkstands, of which the following is a specification.

The invention resldes in a novel construction of two-piece inkstand, one piece being the base containing the inkwell and the other the cover for said well.

' In the present instance the base in the rear of the inkwell is formed with a recess into which a tongue at the back of the cover may extend when the cover is opened upwardly, and said base at opposite sides of said recess is formed with two forks adapted to receive trunnions extending laterally from the tongue formed on the cover. The forks receiving said trunnions are open at the top so that the cover may be applied to the inkstand by simply dropping the trunnions into said forks. When the cover is turned to its upper position the tongue enters the aforesaid recess at the back of the well and the'then lower end of the tongue engages the front wall of said. recess, the two cooperating to form a stop toa'rrest the cover inits open rearwardly inclined position.

Among other purposes theobject of the invention is to provide aninkstand of very neat and attractive appearance, one whose parts may be readily constructed and assembled, oneh'avinga hinged cover and cooperating features rendering it convenient to apply andarrest the cover, and generally to provide a two-part inkstand convenient of manufacture and use and preferably not having any specially projecting parts at-its upper surface, the cover being low and close down upon the base and having "a smooth upper surface. V g

.The-linvention willbe fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which:' Y

Figure 1 is a top'viewof an'inkstand constructed in accordance with andembodying my invention; 7 r

Fig.2 is a vertical longitudinal section through'tlie same taken on the dotted line 22 of Fig. 1, the cover being shown by dotted lines in its open-position, and

Fig. 3' is a vertical transverse section through the same taken on the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

, In the drawings, 10 designates the base of the inkstand, 11 the inkwell therein, and 12 the cover adapted to close said Well or expose the same, as may be required, and having a rearwardly projecting tongue 15 which is formed integrally with the body of said cover. The base 10 may be formed of glass or other material, and will preferably have at its front edge a suitable pen rack 13. The well 11 is preferably circular in outline and with side walls which converge slightly downwardly, and said well is entirely open at its upper end'and extends to the flat top of the base 10.

In rear of the well 11 the base 10 is formed with a recess 14 which is open at its top and back and of suitable proportions to admit the tongue 15 of the cover 12 when said cover is turned to its open position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The recess 14 presents smooth surfaces and has downwardly converging side walls curving into thebase wall of the recess, and at its front end said recess has a vertical wall 16 which is in near relation to thewell 11 and serves as an abutment for the rear end of the tongue 15 when the cover is turned to its open position.

The cover 12 has a forward circular portion 17 andthe rearwardly extending tongue 15 which is somewhat less in width than the portion 17 and extends rearwardly there from, the upper surfaces of the portions 17, 15 being smooth and continuous and curving downwardly at the edgesof said portions, as shown in Fig. 2. At opposite sides of the tongue 15 and'formed integrally therewith are trunnions 18 which extend laterally in oppositedirections from the side edges of the tongue 15 and'are adapted to bearings 19 formed integrally with, the base 10 and between vertical members-20, 21 which constitute forks and which retainthe trunnions 18 on said bearings 19. The vertical members 20, 21 are open at their upper. ends to receivethe trunnions 18, and one important feature" of these members isthat the mem bers 21 extend upwardly to a greater extent than the members 20, and this is for the purpose of preventing the trunnions 18 from leaving the bearings 19 when thelid or cover '12 is thrown upwardly. with some degree of roughness or suddenness. If the members 21 were lower than the members 20 there would be danger of the trunnions 18 leaving their bearings 19 and in the cover falling off at the back of the base 10 in the event that the cover were thrown upwardly to open position with undue force. The members 21, however, are of suflicient height to prevent the accidental loss of the cover from the bearings 19 under all ordinary conditions of use of the inkstand. The bearings 19 are formed on raised portions or lugs 22 which are integral with the base 10, and said bearings 19 are somewhat above the level of the flat portion of the base 10, as shown in Fig. 2, and admit of the de pending portion 2 1 being provided on the coverto engage the top flat surface of the base 10, and said bearings thus located also permit of the trunnions 18 being so disposed abovethe top fiat surface of the base 10 as to make it unnecessary to have a recess 14 in said base of undue depth.

The base 10 is in one piece and comprises a body portion having an inkwell 11, recess 14, and lugs or raised portions 22, providing the bearings 19 and vertical members or fingers 20, 21 constituting open forks, between which the trunnions 18 may be dropped to reach their bearings 19. The pen rack 13 is unimportant to the present invention, although desirable as a convenient means'for holding the pen holders.

The cover or lid 12is in one piece, preferably of molded composition, and comprises the circular portion 17 tongue 15 and laterally extending trunnions 18, and v by means of said trunnions 18 and the bearings v19 on the base, said cover becomes hinged to the base but may be lifted therefrom at any time it may be desired to wash the base or clean the cover or for any other purpose. The essential features of the base, therefore, reside in the body portion having the inkwell 11, recess 14, and proper bearings for trunnions 18 of the cover, and the essential features of the cover residein the body portion adapted to close or expose the well 11 and having the tongue 15 adapted to said recess 14 and the trunnions 18 adapted to the bearings 19. V V

The invention will bereadily understood without further detailed explanation, but I would call attention to the factthat the inkstand as a whole is in two parts adapted to be readily manufactured and assembled, the

base being in one piece capable of being made of glass or suitableflcomposition and the cover being in one piece and capable of being made of'any suitable material and merely dropped upon the base. The cover also ishinged to the base and does not have to be removed therefrom except when it is desired for any reason to separate the same from the base. The cover 12 is also formed with a small recess 25 at the front of its depending flange portion 24, and this is for the purpose of permitting the user of the inkstand to insert. a pen-point below said flange at said recess and turn the cover 12 to its open position. The cover 12 may also be turned to its open position by pressure applied on the rear end of the tongue 15, but ordinarily it would be just as convenient to open the cover 12 by the use of a pen-point inserted below the front edge of the same at the recess 25 and turn the cover upwardly from its front edge. The cover 12 is at all times substantially out of any danger of the ink getting thereon, being on the Hat top of the base 10 when closed and when opened being entirely clear of the inkwell and extending rearwardly beyond the same to the extent permitted by the length of the tongue 15, as I illustrate in Fig. 2, and this is important, since in many inkstandsthe covers become sealed to the base by an accumulation of hardened ink and also become disintegrated when made of a composition having parts which enter the inkwell and are subjected to the corroding' action ofthe ink. In the present instance the cover is entirely exterior to the inkwell both when in its closed and in its open position,-and therefore the cover is not likely to be affected by the ink and may remain in a clean condition under all ordinary circumstances. The cover 12 and tongue 15 present smooth unbroken surfaces, and therefore are of neat appearance and not likely to accumulate dust or dirt. I I

1 Both the base 10 and cover 12 may be-readily cleaned whenever required, :and should any accident happen to the cover 12 by which it should become broken, the owner of the inkstand may readily purchase and apply a new cover, there being no difliculty in any one-applying the cover 12 to the base 10 in a proper manner. What I claim as my'invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: I V

1. An inkstand of the character described comprising an integral base containing in its interior portion aninkwell and at the rear thereof a vertical recess open at its to'p,]and a cover adapted to closesaid well and being wholly exterior thereto and bodily remov-- thereof a vertical recess open at its top, and

a cover adapted to close said well and being wholly exterior thereto and bodily removable from said base and having a rearwardly extending tongue adapted to be turned downwardly into said recess and engage the front wall thereof, said tongue having laterally extending trunnions at its opposite side edges and said base having integrally therewith upwardly extending lugs on which are located bearings for said trunnions and vertical members extending upwardly atopposite sides of said bearings and serving to detachably retain the trunnions on said bearings, and said base also having a flat top about said well on which said cover may rest.

3. An inkstand of the character described comprising an integral base containing in its interior portion an inkwell and at the rear thereof a vertical recess open at its top, and a cover adapted to close said well and being wholly exterior thereto and bodily removable from said base and having a rearwardly extending tongue adapted to be turned downwardly into said recess and engage the front wall thereof, said tongue having laterally extending trunnions at its opposite side edges and said base having integrally therewith open-top bearings adapted to detachably receive said trunnions and upwardly extending-members at the front and rear sides of said bearings serving to detachably retain said trunnions on said bearings, the rear upwardly extending members being extended upwardly to a greater extent than the front upwardly extending members, and said base having a fiat top about said well on which said cover may rest.

4:. An inkstand of the character described comprising a base in one integral piece and containing an inkwell, and a hinged cover in one integral piece adapted to close said well and being bodily detachable from said well, and said base having a flat top about said well on which said cover may rest when the same 1s m closed positlon.

5. An inkstand of the character described comprising a base in one integral piece and containing an inkwell, and a hinged cover in one integral piece adapted to close said well and being bodily detachable from said base, said cover having laterally extending trunnions and said base having open-top bearings for said trunnions and also vertically extending members at the front and rear sides of said bearings for retaining said trunnions thereon during the movements of said cover and also when said cover is in closed position, the rear members being taller than the front members, and said base and cover having interengaging parts for arresting the cover in a rearwardly inclined position when the same is turned upwardly from over said well, and said base having a flat top about said well on which said cover may rest when the same is in closed position.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 22nd day of December, A. D. 1917.

FRANK A. WEEKS.

Witnesses ARTHUR MARION, CHAS. C. GILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

